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No Sympathy for a Steelhead Guide (Better to be lucky than good)

Never fails. Wash my truck and post a blog about how dry it has been and it rains! Well if that is what it takes to shake up the heavens—- then it’s hotter than a rooster in a hen house on fire and I’ll suds my truck and polish the bumpers in my dreams. Finally some reprieve from a severely dry seven week high pressure!

Chad Sayre cash’n in on mint bright steel.

Recent rains are just what the doc ordered and brought much relief to our neck of the woods, ending a scary prolonged fire season and jumpstarted steelhead fishing and movements. About an inch and a half of rain inspired a brief surge of new fish into the lower system and encouraged staging fish, holding in the mid- canyons for weeks, to rotate. Never a gemmy and far from what most have experienced in the past, anglers are still working for a grab a day with rare multiple opportunities occurring to those lucky enough to find a pod that hasn’t been run over and pounded. With the greater majority of coastal rivers closed angler pressure has increased. This past weekend, one guide indicated JC looked like a Wal-Mart parking lot. Be prepared to share the waters and try to keep in mind, we are all there sharing the same steelhead stoke.

GB pick’n up the slack with multi chromers.

Prolonged dry weather, low flows and well distributed spooky fish have created some very challenging fishing, not only for anglers but guides as well. 2013 steelhead runs are a real learning curve for those starting out commercially. Suck it up, lick your wounds and count your blessings. It could be worse. Our next round of weather should shed some light, hopefully reopening coastal waters and generate new steelheading options. On that note, Shelia Kreick (Kit’s partner in crime) recently jotted down the following we’d like to share with you.